Judge says poker is game of chance, not skill

A district court judge has ruled that a county court judge in Weld County erred in allowing a defendant charged with illegal gambling to present evidence during trial contending that poker is a game of skill.

The first defendant to go to trial was Kevin Raley, who ran the game along with four others. He was acquitted and charges against the others were dropped. He had argued, among other things, that poker is a game of skill. Illegal gambling occurs when a game has chance, risk and reward. If poker is deemed a game of skill, then there is no chance and thus would not be illegal.

The trial judge allowed Raley to call an expert – DU professor Bob Hannum – to testify to that point. Raley also presented evidence that he was not guilty because everyone at the tournament had a social relationship – one of the exemptions to illegal gambling. The jury did not state why they found him not guilty, so it’s unclear which argument jurors bought.

Raley can’t be retried and charges against his partners won’t be refiled.

Nonetheless, the state appealed the county court’s decision to allow Hannum to testify to clarify future prosecutions.

“The activity at issue in this case involved gambling and the only exception that properly should have been presented to the jury for consideration was whether the activity fell within the social gambling exception,” Judge James Hartmann wrote in his opinion Aug. 4.

If Hartmann’s ruling is not appealed, or is held up on appeal, it means cash poker games and Hold’em tournaments that involve a buy-in is only legal at a casino in one of Colorado’s three gambling towns, or at home where everyone knows everyone.

The Poker Players Alliance, an advocacy group that paid for Hannum to testify in the case, said it is reviewing its options and will decide soon whether to appeal.

“We have seen this and are disappointed. The PPA believes the judge in this case has erred, given that his decision that poker is a game of chance, not skill, is contrary to every statistical analysis conducted on the game of poker, which show that it is a game of skill,” the PPA said in an email. “As such, the PPA firmly believes that the expert testimony of Professor Hannum was germane to the lower court trial.”

I always thought it was a game of skill until “free” poker. Bar poker opened the flood gates for new, unskilled players. The only skill involved is how much can u underestimate ur opponent. The skill of raising, bluffing, folding and reading opponents is being crushed by the experiance and knowlege of bar room players. When they eliminated the risk of a bankroll it turned the game into bingo. So,I must sadly admit, it is gambling. Poker always has been and always will be about MONEY…

Andy Vuong joined The Denver Post as a business reporter in 2000 after graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a news-editorial degree. His primary beats are gambling, telecommunications and technology. Over the years, his coverage has included everything from aviation to federal courts.